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Boss Punts Assaulted Teen

A 15-year-old apprentice at a Sydney kitchen manufacturing company was sacked when he called the police after being assaulted by his supervising tradesman.

The boy called police after appeals to his employer over the assault failed to bring any action.

Rather than help, the proprietor of Network Kitchens Pty Ltd withdrew the boy's apprenticeship, claiming the police visit bought shame on his business.

Several months earlier, the proprietor told the boy - employed as a labourer - he couldn't afford to pay him if he made a workers compensation claim over an accident where the tops of his fingers were skimmed off.

The New South Wales Industrial Commission recently ordered Network Kitchens to compensate the boy for unfair dismissal, benefits lost as a result of victimisation, underpayment and unpaid super.

In another recent case, the Commission ordered a transport company to re-employ a worker who'd been sacked after raising safety concerns.

The worker had complained about risks from overfilling sugarcane bins.

When a new company took over the contract he was denied employment, despite a high score in recruitment tests for the job.

The Transport Workers Union won an employment order on his behalf after successfully arguing he'd been victimised for complaining about potential workplace safety risks.

In both cases the Commission applied section 210 of the NSW IR Act, designed to protect workers who raise safety issues.